Germany leads Goodman to record operational results in Continental Europe

Thursday, 29 September 2016

Goodman Group, a global leading owner, developer and manager of industrial real estate, grew its global assets under management to €23 billion at the close of its 2016 financial year, ending 30 June 2016, representing a 13% increase. In Continental Europe, Goodman continued to demonstrate strong dynamics across its portfolio with a record level of 1.35 million sqm of leasing activity. The Group also delivered 766,000 sqm of new logistics space and commenced a total of approximately 920,000 sqm of development projects, of which Germany accounted for 51% and 55% of this space, respectively.

Germany continued to be the biggest driver of growth for Goodman in Continental Europe and is one of the Group’s major markets globally. Germany is the biggest logistics market in Continental Europe and Goodman is the country’s leading developer according to a study by bulwiengesa. The Group strengthened its position in the German market with the delivery of approximately 392,000 sqm of logistics space and the commencement of over 500,000 sqm. Across its existing portfolio of high quality assets, Goodman signed leasing deals for 625,000 sqm of space.

“Goodman has been able to capitalise on the strength of the overall market in Germany and the quality of our portfolio and services to deliver record results during our 2016 fiscal year,” said Jordan Corynen, Goodman Regional Director for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “This year we will continue to focus on maintaining our strong development activity to support the growth of the overall business by responding to major industry trends, particularly supply chain optimisation and the continued growth of ecommerce.”

Consumer companies driving demand
During the fiscal year, Goodman started the development of 242,000 sqm of logistics space and delivered 128,000 sqm for companies in the retail and ecommerce sectors. This growth has been driven by the consolidation of logistics networks of customers including WMF and Hellweg and Goodman’s repeat business with ecommerce players Zalando and Home24, with both companies needing to expand their network to meet increased demand.

Multifunctional properties
Goodman has responded to the demand for an emerging new asset class of industrial space that combines light manufacturing, warehousing and logistics. During the fiscal year, the Group completed such projects for DS Smith (51,000 sqm), Smurfit Kappa (12,000 sqm), and Diehl Comfort Modules (13,000 sqm) and it currently developing a combined property for Gutmann (12,500 sqm).
Resilient portfolio performance
In the 2016 fiscal year, Goodman signed a record number of lease agreements in Germany across 22 existing properties, totalling 625,000 sqm of logistics space. Over 60% of the space was signed with third party logistics providers, reflecting Goodman’s traditional customer base as well as the quality of the properties and their locations to meet the needs of its customers. The remaining space was leased to automotive, retail, ecommerce and health care companies.

Record result in Continental Europe
In Continental Europe, the Group performed strongly across the three elements of its integrated own-develop-manage offering. In line with its global strategy, Goodman’s activities in Continental Europe were driven by its robust development activity, providing 766,000 sqm of new high quality, well located logistics space. As a result, specialist magazine PropertyEU named Goodman as Europe’s top developer for the fifth consecutive year. Additionally, Goodman’s in-house property services team maintained the strong performance of the overall portfolio, with 97% occupancy and a customer retention rate above 85%.